


A Blank Where My Gender is Supposed to Be

by shnuffeluv



Series: Baker Street Irregulars [5]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, Gender Indentity, Gender Issues, Neutrois Character, Neutrois Sherlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 23:58:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6632278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock first finds out about boys and girls from their (then his) nursery school teacher. They're distressed that they're apparently a boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Blank Where My Gender is Supposed to Be

When Sherlock first heard the question, “Are you a boy or a girl?” it was from his nursery school teacher, and she was trying to get everyone to share something about themselves. Sherlock had tilted his head and asked, “What’s a boy or a girl?”

All the other kids laughed at this poor boy who apparently didn’t know about gender. The teacher smiled patiently. “Now, now. Not everyone gets to learn this sort of thing at home. Sherlock, a boy is someone who wears pants and plays with trucks and is good at maths. A girl is someone who wears skirts and plays with dolls and has lots and lots of friends, more than boys do. Do you understand?”

Sherlock frowned, but nodded. “I think. I’m not a boy or a girl.”

“You have to be a boy or a girl! It’s the rules!” one kid yelled.

“The rules are wrong, then, because I’ve never been called a boy or a girl in my life! I’ve just been called a brother or a son!”

“Well, then that means you’re a boy, Sherlock, why didn’t you just say so?” the teacher asked, and moved on.

Sherlock sat there in shock and tried to process what he had heard. He...was supposed to play with trucks and be good at maths? What did that have to do with anything?! Why did that mean he was a boy? He didn’t like the thought of being a boy, it didn’t feel right. He was eager to go home. He suddenly didn’t like nursery school.

When Sherlock saw Mycroft at the edge of the playground, he ran over. “Mycroft! Can we go home now?”

Mycroft frowned, as Sherlock had been eager to leave home this morning. “Yeah. Why, are the other kids being mean to you?”

“Sorta,” Sherlock said. “The teacher said I was a boy and because I was a boy I had to play with trucks and be good at maths. But I don’t think I’m a boy.”

Mycroft hopped over the fence and started to move towards Sherlock’s teacher. “Oh? Why not?”

“Because I hate trucks and I wouldn’t mind wearing a skirt. It would just mean I could move my legs more.”

Mycroft laughed. “Okay, Sherlock, that’s fine. I’ve always suspected something like this might happen to you, and I want you to know that if you don’t feel like a boy, I’ll still be your brother.”

“Okay, can we go now?” Sherlock asked.

“Not yet, I need to talk to your teacher.”

“Why?” Sherlock whined.

“Because I need to talk to her about gender stereotyping,” Mycroft said. Sherlock frowned at the words he didn’t recognize, but nodded. “Excuse me, are you Mrs. Trunchbill?”

Sherlock’s teacher smiled. “That’s me. Are you Sherlock’s brother?”

Mycroft nodded. “Yes. And he was talking to me today about the differences between boys and girls.”

“Oh, yes, you’re a sensible boy, you understand, don’t you?”

“Actually, I was going to request that you stop encouraging gender stereotypes in your classroom. My mother is actually an esteemed mathematician, and my father is an avid gardener. Those stereotypes are harmful to children of such a young age, and if you could not encourage any of your students in this direction it would be greatly appreciated.” Mycroft took a breath. “Now, as for Sherlock being a boy: we actually genuinely are not sure in our family whether he’s a boy or not. He’s never identified himself one way or another, so we don’t either. We just used what he was assigned at birth to make things easier. If he says he’s neither a boy or a girl, he’s not a boy or a girl. And I hope you won’t tease him for that fact, or my parents will have your license. Okay, Sherlock, now we can go.”

Sherlock ran off happily with Mycroft, ignoring the teacher’s stunned and furious face. “Myc?” he asked.

Mycroft looked down at Sherlock. “Yes?”

“Do most people think they’re a boy or a girl by now?” he asked.

“...Yes. We don’t know why you haven’t. You’re just...you. And that’s good enough for us.”

Sherlock nodded, a look of concentration on his face. “Y’know, I saw Mummy looking something up in her books once about gender. I wonder if that was for me. I…I don’t really understand. There’s just a big blank where my gender is supposed to be.”

Mycroft considered how much he should reveal. “I...know, what you might be, gender-wise. You could be agender, or neutrois. The absence of gender. Gender-less.”

Sherlock’s face lit up like a Christmas tree covered in lights. “Neutrois! That sounds cool! And it makes sense, ‘cause I don’t feel like a boy, but I’m not a girl either!” They hugged Mycroft. “Thanks for telling me!”

“No problem, Sherlock,” Mycroft said uneasily. “And I hope--I’m sure that Mummy and Father will be pleased to hear about this as well. You finding a gender, or rather lack thereof, that explains who you are.”

They beamed at Mycroft. “Can I still be your brother, though? I don’t feel like a boy, but I feel like that describes who I am to you.”

“Of course, little brother, of course.”

Sherlock hummed the rest of the way home, and as soon as they were inside, they yelled, “Mummy! Father! I’m neutrois!”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there's anything you want to see, besides gay!Sherlock and bisexual!John in Johnlock. That's way too over-represented in my opinion.


End file.
